Latest news

The Insult spearheads Indie Sales’ slate

Ziad Doueiri’s film is in the running for the Golden Lion at Venice and has also been selected for Toronto, where The Price of Success will also unspool

For the second time in its relatively short history (having been founded in May 2013), French international sales agent Indie Sales can boast about having a hopeful for the Golden Lion on its line-up. After Rabin, The Last Day [+] in 2015, this time it will be the French-Lebanese co-production The Insult [+]’s turn to take its place among the competitors at the 74th Venice Film Festival, which kicks off this Wednesday. The new film by Ziad Doueiri, the director of West Beirut (Directors’ Fortnight in 1998), Lila Says (in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005) and The Attack [+] (Special Mention at San Sebastián in 2012), will have its world premiere on the Lido on Thursday 31 August, before heading to the 42nd Toronto Film Festival (7-17 September), where it will unspool in the Contemporary World Cinema section. Executive-produced by French outfits Tessalit Productions (Jean Bréhat and Rachid Bouchareb) and Rouge International (Julie Gayetand Nadia Turincev), The Insult was co-produced by Belgian firm Scope Pictures, Lebanon’s Douri Film, and US companies Ezekiel Film Limited and Cohen Media Group. It will be distributed in France by Diaphana.

At Toronto, Indie Sales will also be pinning its hopes on The Price of Success [+] by Teddy Lussi-Modeste, which will have its international premiere in the Special Presentations programme. Starring such names as Tahar Rahim, Roschdy Zem and Maïwenn, the feature, produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond for Kazak Production, will be released in French theatres on Wednesday 30 August by Ad Vitam and will also be showcased at the 65th San Sebastián Film Festival (22-30 September) in the competitive New Directors section.

At Toronto, the team managed by Nicolas Eschbach (with help from Clémentine Hugot) will also continue selling Arrhythmia [+] by Boris Khlebnikov, which was revealed in competition at Karlovy Vary, winning the Best Actor Award to boot. The film, a production between Russia, Finland and Germany, will be screened in Canada, in Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema section.

Indie Sales will also be organising a market screening for Kim Shupenko’s Salyut-7 at Toronto; the movie is slated for release on 12 October and looks set to be the biggest smash of the year in Russia.

Also featuring on the line-up are the French films Let the Girls Play by Julien Hallard (formerly Les filles de Reims – see the article – set to be distributed in France by Mars Films) and When Margaux Meets Margaux by Sophie Fillières (see the article – starring Sandrine Kiberlain, Agathe Bonitzer and Melvil Poupaud – French distribution by Memento Films), both in post-production; the animated title Another Day of Life by Raúl de La Fuente (due to be completed in the first half of 2018 – co-produced by Poland, Spain, Benelux, Germany and Hungary; the movie delves into Angola in 1975, on the trail of great Polish reporter Ryszard Kapuscinski); and One Step Behind the Seraphim by Daniel Sandu (see the article), which will be out in Romanian theatres on 22 September. And that’s not to mention Nicolas Silhol’s Corporate [+] – which grossed €1.6 million in French cinemas in the spring before going on to take part in the Karlovy Vary competition – among other completed films.